Meet the GirlCrewer #31: Siobhan Scanlan of The Peacock Bride

When it comes to careers, one thing we repeatedly hear from our members is the desire to make a change and shake things up. A career change or going it alone, is a both terrifying and exhilarating thought, that so many of us tackle during our working lives. One of the wonderful things about GirlCrew is we get to meet girls who’ve done the things we only dare to think about doing.

Siobhan had spent six years working for other people and building her skill base when she decided she was ready to go it alone. “I always wanted to start something for myself and wasn’t especially happy with my role at the time, so I went on a six-month-long mission to find an alternative.” She identified a niche in the market while trying to organise her sister’s hen “I was struck by the lack of options for party wear. If you know what you were after you could find it, but there was no one-stop shop, nor was there anywhere to go to be inspired”. Many of us would pass this off as an errant thought, but not Siobhan. She identified how she could match this gap in the partyware market to her skills, and The Peacock Bride was born.

At HQ, we can be suckers for a good GirlBoss story but Siobhan is refreshingly honest when it comes to what it took to get her where she is. “I was working full time while building it; coming home every evening, hunched over my laptop burrowing away into the early hours.” While it may not have been the easiest or most glamorous journey for Siobhan, it has clearly paid off. The Peacock Bride has just launched their Lucky Dip collection – ‘a Hen Box which includes more than enough accessories, hair wear and novelty items to PIMP YOUR HEN!” In true GirlCrew Spirit, The Peacock Bride offers 20% off to all GirlCrewers who use the coupon GIRLCREW20.

1. What is the best thing about your role?

The best thing about it is the variety. As a small business owner, you have to get involved in every aspect of the business from buying, marketing, finance, social media, photography and everything in between. No one day is the same so on the days when I dread doing particular tasks I know that tomorrow will be different so just get on with things.

2. What did you find most challenging about it?

Trying to keep on top of a million and one things can be a challenge at times. It’s easy to get caught up in the detail of every little thing and loose sight of the end goal, so I consciously have to reign myself in now and then to refocus.

3. What is your proudest work-related achievement to date?

For me launching The Peacock Bride in itself if probably my proudest achievement. I was working full time while building it; coming home every evening, hunched over my Laptop burrowing away into the early hours. The fundamentals of starting a company were all new to me; setting up a company, sourcing products, building supplier relationships all the unglamorous things so everything took so much longer than they should have but thankfully it all came together in the end!

4. What would be your one tip to others who want to get involved in this industry?

I think for anyone looking to start an e-commerce site it’s wise to spend some time to get up to speed with the free resources available online. There are so many great sites out there that help you build a professional brand at little or no cost. Some of the best ones include Canva for graphic design, Moovly for creating video content, Upwork for finding freelancers for almost anything at really reasonable prices. With a little creativity, the possibilities are endless.